May the mumbling commence!
Sometimes, we need to pull back from our lives together
so that we can see the broad patterns.
Those broad patterns could either lead us closer and closer to God or
further or further away. So, it is essential
to be aware of these patterns. If we are
aware of these patterns, then we can have some awareness in choosing our path
rightly.
So, how broad are the strokes on these patterns? How far reaching must our sight be? We are not just talking about a few years or
even a few decades. We are talking about
a generation of time. Read from Judges
chapter ten:
Again the Israelites
did evil in the Lord's sight. They worshiped
images of Baal and Ashtoreth, and the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and
Philistia. Not only this, but they abandoned the Lord and no longer served him at all. So the Lord
burned with anger against Israel, and he handed them over to the Philistines
and the Ammonites, who began to oppress them that year. For eighteen years they
oppressed all the Israelites east of the Jordan River in the land of the
Amorites (that is, in Gilead). The
Ammonites also crossed to the west side of the Jordan and attacked Judah,
Benjamin, and Ephraim. The Israelites were
in great distress. Finally, they cried
out to the Lord, saying, "We
have sinned against you because we have abandoned you as our God and have
served the images of Baal."
The Lord
replied, "Did
I not rescue you from the Egyptians,
the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites,
and the Maonites? When they oppressed you, you cried out to me, and I rescued you. Yet you
have abandoned me and served other gods. So I will not rescue
you anymore. Go and cry out to the gods
you have chosen! Let them rescue you in your hour of distress!"
But the Israelites pleaded with the Lord and said, "We
have sinned. Punish us as you see fit, only rescue us today from our
enemies." Then the Israelites put aside their foreign gods and
served the Lord. And he was grieved by their misery.
At that time the armies of Ammon had gathered for war and
were camped in Gilead, preparing to attack Israel's army at Mizpah. The leaders of Gilead said to each other, "Whoever
attacks the Ammonites first will become
ruler over all the people of Gilead." (Verses 6-18)
Again it happened.
Again – that’s the word of patterns.
Israel totally abandoned the Lord.
They worshiped other gods. These
false gods could not help them, so they suffered.
They no longer knew the Lord as their King. But their suffering led them back to
God. They wanted out of an extremely
uncomfortable position. Although hindsight
is 20/20, as soon as comfort is restored, myopic patterns return again.
Our misery grieves the Lord. There is no doubt. Our God reaches out to help us again and
again. That too is a part of the
pattern.
But then we reach out to the person who God used to free
us from our uncomfortable position. That
person we want to make ruler, king, president.
We lose sight of the Lord. Second
verse same as the first.
O God, help us to always remember that You alone are our
Lord. Help us to recognize Your
voice. Read from John chapter ten:
It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time
of Hanukkah. He was at the Temple,
walking through the section known as Solomon's Colonnade. The Jewish leaders surrounded him and asked, "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If
you are the Messiah, tell us plainly."
Jesus replied, "I have already told you, and you don't believe me. The
proof is what I do in the name of my
Father. But you don't believe me because
you are not part of my flock. My sheep recognize my voice; I know them,
and they follow me. I give them
eternal life, and they will never perish. No
one will snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he
is more powerful than anyone else. So no one can take them from me. The Father and I are one." (Verses
22-30)
May we recognize both Your actions and Your voice so
that we may follow the Leader – Jesus the Christ.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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